OVERVIEW
Maryvale was birthed in the 1950’s as a sparkling oasis – a flourishing planned village in the desert beckoning families to a new suburban community. John F. Long, an innovative community planner and developer and his wife Mary created homes for young families and a planned village that won multiple awards as a model for city planners. Maryvale is one of the villages in metro Phoenix.
Now the sparkling innovative community is in decline. The new reality that faces Maryvale demands critical care to meet the community’s increased poverty, homelessness, crime, and great social needs.
HISTORY
The Maryvale Village is located in west Phoenix. Many of its neighborhoods were first developed by John F. Long, a developer who focused on constructing inexpensive homes. In 1954, Long employed a prominent master-planned community consultant to design the post-War suburban community of Maryvale. This community’s main focus was on veterans, satisfying a demand for housing that became great after many years of slow building during the depression. John F. Long is credited for making home ownership available for thousands of residents. The communities he created included schools, parks, churches, places for shopping, and medical services. He also built the first solar powered subdivision in the nation in Maryvale.
Phoenix continued to expand westward after Maryvale was built until the city limits reached the borders of Tolleson, Avondale and Goodyear. Due to the westward expansion in the later part of the 20th century, the Village changed from being one master-planned suburb in Phoenix to a diverse community of neighborhoods. Maryvale is home to the Ak Chin Pavilion, the Brewers, Dodgers & White Sox spring training facilities, and Grand Canyon University Championship Golf Course.
Maryvale Village is bounded by Grand Avenue on the northeast, Black Canyon Freeway on the east, McDowell Road and I-10 Freeway on the south and the city limits to the west and northwest. It is accessed by the I-10 Freeway at its southern edge and the future outer loop between 91st and 99th Avenues.
